Washing-machine mechanism



W. H. V088.

WASHING MACHINE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1917.

1 ,385,806. Patented July 26, 1921.

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WASHING MACHINE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. 1917.

1,385,806. Patented July 26, 1921,

. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 m HIIIIII m." japan/50f Wdimmfl V65 W. H. VOSS.

WASHING MACHINE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. 1917.

1,385,806, Patented July 26, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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Specification Letters Patent.

I Patented July 26, 1921.

Application filed July 80, 1917. Serial No. 183,428.

To all-107mm it may Be it known that I, WILLIAM H Voss, a citizen of the United States, res1din at u Davenport, in the county of Scott and tate of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Washing Machine. Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to washing machines and more particularly to a new and improved form of g aring for operating the same. I

Among the objects 'of my invention is to provide such form of caring having a shiftin clutch whereby w en said clutch is suitably manipulated, the washing machine may be opened and closed without stopping the gasolene engine or other source of m'otlve power; to arrange the more dangerous parts of the gearing underneath the tub where they will be out of the way and not liable to catch the clothing of the operator; to so arrange the handle of the clutch that it will be convenient for operation and positive in its action; to provide a new and im-- proved form' of clutch mechanism; toprovide a form of universal joint connection between the lower end of the operating lever and the outer end of the itman; to provide a horizontal power shaf t which is longitudinally slidable in its bearings. in order that in the operation of the clutch the shaft may be shifted longitudinally instead of the drive pinion; to provide a novel arrangement of lever and handle for operating the clutch; and to provide such arrangement of parts as will result in a more simple, less expensive and more efiicient apparatus of the class set forth.

Further objects and advantages will appear as my invention becomes more thorou hly'understood.

y invention further resides in that combination, construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and while I have illustrated a preferred embodiment therein, I desire it to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure l'is a side elevation of a washing machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section. through the universal connection between the lower end of the lever and the connect- F g. 4 is a side elevation of Fig. 3.

Flg. 5 1s a vertical transverse .section through Flg. 3, the dotted lines showing the pos1t1ons of the shaft and pulley when the clutch is disengaged.

Flg. 6 is a section through the power shaft, SllOWlll the arrangement of lever for sh1ft1ng the s aftlongitudinally in the operat on oi? the clutch.

F g. 7 1s a detail perspective view of the dnlying pinion.

ig. 8 is a fragmenta ers ective view of the clutch end of the ginger s aft.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the tub of the washing machine, upon the top oi? wh ch is mounted the lid 2, secured to wh1ch 11d 1s the housing 3, within which 1s mounted suitable driving-mechanism for the dolly (not nlsm 1s actuated by the rack bar 4:, the outer end of WlllCll is pivotally connected to the upper end of the operating lever or rocker arm 6, whlch is in turn pivoted to the shown) and which mecha-' r j Fig. 3 is a plan view of the under gearing.

bracket 7 mounted upon the side of the tub 1. The lower arm 7 of the operating lever is connected by means of the pin 8 to the sleeve 9, which sleeve is fixedly mounted upon the short shaft 10 by the pin 8, which extends entirely through both sleeve 9 and shaft 10. The lower end of the shaft 10 is rotatably mounted in the bearing 11, which is carried by the outer end of the connectlng rod or pitman 12, which is composed of the two side members 13, 14, secured within the recesses 15 by means of pins or. bolts 16. The bearing 11 is held in posltlon 'upon the shaft 10 by the washer 17 and cotter key 18.

Suitably secured to the bottom of the tub 1 are the legs 19, extending between which are the cross bars 20, adjacent ends of which are suitably connected together by means of the cross plate 21, which is secured to the cross bars 20 by means of 'minates in the slots or the plate 22 is formed with the downwardly extended orsofiset portion 25, which rests upon the intersecting ortions of the cross bars 20 and is provi ed with the downwardly extending integral sleeve portion 26, within which is rotatably mounted the shaft 27 carried upon the upper end of which is the gear wheel 28, the hub 29 of which rotates within the annular recess 30 formed by the circular rib 31. I

Loosely mounted upon the inner end of the power shaft 32, which is slidably mounted in the bearings 23, 24, is the pinion 33, which is provided in its face ad acent the teeth with the inclined oflset portions 34, 35, see Fig. 7, each of which portions terrecesses 36, 37, respectivel Formed in the hub of this pinion on theend o 'posite from the inclined faces is a cireum erential groove 38, within which engages the projection 39 carried by the plate 22, the function of which is to permit the pinion to rotate, but at the same time to prove t any longitudinal movement thereof. Extending through the power shaft 32 and adjacent the inclined faces of the inion is the pin 40, the function of whicli is (when the power shaft isshifted longitudinally to the left) to engage the engage the pin inclined faces'34, 35, which faces carry the two ends of the pin into the notches or recesses 36, .37, thus establishing a driving connection between the power shaft and the pinion. Keyed to the opposite end of the power shaft is the belt pulley 41 which is spaced away from the bearing 23 a distance sufiicient to permit; of 'such longitudinal movement of the power shaft 32 as to dis- 40 from the notches 36, 37, which disengaged position is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5. By shifting this power shaft longitudinally in the appropriate direction, the clutch may be thrown either into or out of operative position as 'bers 44, 45, are brou the contiguous para which at their lower ends fit into the aper desired.

As a means'for shifting the shaft 32 longitudinall I-have provided the elongated collar 42 see Fig. 6) which carries upon its ends 'the pins. or cylindrical extensions 43,

which engage in suitable openings in the outwardly bowed portions 44, 45, of thelever 46. The elongated collar 42 is loosely mounted upon the shaft 32 in order to ermit rotation of this shaft therein. lower ends of the outwardly bowed memght together to form lel portions 47, 489

ture 49 in the up-standing projection 50, which lip-standing projection is formed integral with the plate 22, the purpose of which aperture is to hold this end of the lever against any substantial movement therein, and et act as a fulcrum therefor.

The outwar y' bowed members 44, 45, are

surface with notches 61 and 62 to fit over a suitable projection mounted on the tub legs as desired. This handle 60 may be either grasped b the hand of the operator when shifting the clutch, or it may be operated by means of a'nysuitable extension or lever secured thereto an suitable manner to the side of the tub. eferring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that in order to prevent the longitudinal slipas desired, and mounted in pin of the elongated collar 42 on the power sha I have rovided washers 63, 64, which are held in p ace upon opposite sides of the collar 42 by means of suitablecotter keys or pins 65. Secured to the outer end of one of the arms of the gear 28 is the crank pin 66, see Fig. 3, 'upon which is rotatably mounted the bearing 67 carried by the inner end of the connecting rod and suitably secured between the side members 13 and 14 thereof. In order to provide for a certain amount of vertical oscillation of the connectin rod, 1 have interposed at the inner end 0 the members 13, 14, the pin connection 67 which thus gives a' universal connection somewhat similar to that given to the outer end of the connecting rod and the lower end of the operating lever. In case it is desired to operate the machineby hand, a suitable handle may be inserted within the socket 68 formed on the upper end of the arm 5 of the operating lever, and 111 case it is desired to operate the machine entirely by hand, it is obvious that a suitable fly wheel may, ifdesired be substituted for the belt pulley 41. I-iowever, the value in my improved mechanism resides in the use of the belt wheel for the reason that it will permit of the disengagement of the operatin parts of the under gearing, as a result 0 which the lid of the tub may be raised without stopping the gasolene engine or other motor. 1

In the operation of my improved gearing, rotary motion is transmitted to the power greater shaft 32 from the belt pulley 41. Assuming Fig. 5 to the left, thus carrying the pin 40 on the end of the shaft 32 into'engagement with the beveled surfaces 34, 35, as a result of wluch the pm 40 will be at once carried pinion firmly together.

at its respective ends 'into the slots 36, 37

thus connecting the power shaft and the This will in turn transmit motion to the gear 28 and through the connecting rod or pitman 12 to the operating lever 6, and thus in turn to the washing mechanism carried by the lid of the tub. If the machinery is in operation, and it is desired to stop the same, an outward pull on the handle 60 will move the lever 46 in Fig. 5 to the right, thus longitudinally sliding the shaft 32' within its bearings, which will result in a disengagement of the pin 40 from the slots 36, 37, in the pinion, after which the lid of the tub may be raised safely, for the reason that the upper part of the mechanism will no longer be in motion.

By' virtue of the universal connections between the lower end of the operating lever and the connecting rod and the inner end of this connecting rod and the crank pin on the gear 28, it will be seen that there will be no undue strain or twisting between these parts. This is very important, for the reason that the connecting rod 12 is given a slight up and down movement at its outer end as well as a rotary movement-at its inner end, and in the absence of this improved form of joint, would result in a. twisting or'undue straining of these parts. Asa result of my invention in this respect, these parts will have a perfectly free and easy operation.

Having now described my invention, I claim 1. In apparatus of the class described, a support, an operating lever pivoted to the side of said support, a horizontal power shaft slidably mounted beneath said support, a pinion on said shaft, a singlemeans connected with the support and engaging the pinion to prevent longitudinal movement thereof in either direction but permitting rotary movement thereof, a gear driven by said pinion, connecting means between said gear and said lever, and a clutch mechanism associated with said pinion, whereby the same may be thrown into or-out of operation ion, whereby to operate a driven mechanism when said shaft is moved longitudinally into driving engagement with said pinion.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a support, a top mechanism on said support, means for operating said top mechanism including a lever pivoted on the side of said support, a horizontal power shaft slidably mounted beneath said support, a pinion loosely mounted on said shaft and provided with clutch parts, a projection on said shaft for enga ement with one of said clutch parts when sald shaft is shifted longitudinally, means for shifting said shaft, and a horizontal gear engaging said pinion and operatively connected with said lever, whereby said top mechanism may be operated.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a support, a lever pivoted to the side of said support, a pitman beneath said support, and

-a universal connection between said lever and said pitman comprisinga vertical hearing formed in the end of said pitman, .a sleeve seated on the upper edge of said bearing, a shaft pinned in said sleeve and rotatably mounted in said bearing, and said lever having pin connection with said sleeve.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specification. v

WILLIAM H. voss. 

